Aging Myths: 10 Common Misconceptions About Growing Older

06/22/2012 06:44 am ET
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Updated
Jun 22, 2012

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Senior moments, increasing isolation, an inability to grow and change -- these are just a few of the common stereotypes about what people can expect later in life. But thanks to the research of scientists and pollsters, these tired cliches have been largely proven to be untrue. Of course, it's hard to know first-hand until you've been there, but here are 10 popular ideas about what it's like to grow older that have been debunked over the past decade or so.

10 Misconceptions About Aging

10 Misconceptions About Aging

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10. You'll Feel Old

Just the opposite, in fact: a 2009 Pew Research Survey found that "the older people get, the younger they feel, relatively speaking." Researchers observed a gap between chronological age and "felt age" that grew wider as people grew older, with nearly half of respondents 50 and older reporting that they felt 10 to 19 years younger than their chronological age.